Tokyo Skytree: World's tallest free-standing tower

It is double the height of the Eiffel Tower, but falls short of the 2,717 ft recorded by the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. But, that's in a different category because it's a skyscraper, not a tower.

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Image: Japanese Emperor Akihito (L) and Empress Michiko look out from the 450m (1,480 ft) high observatory at the Tokyo Sky TreePhotographs: Yoshikazu Tsuno/Reuters

Tokyo Skytree: World's tallest free-standing tower

The height of the Tokyo Skytree was originally specified at approximately 610m in the original project. However, it was planned from the beginning to be the world's tallest free-standing broadcasting tower.

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Image: Reporters observe a panoramic view of the city of Tokyo from the first observatory deckPhotographs: Issei Kato/Reuters

Tokyo Skytree: World's tallest free-standing tower

The decision on the figure "634" for the height was based on the concept of choosing a figure that would be easy for everyone to remember with the world's tallest tower that has also become a symbol of the area.

The sound of the number "634" when read in old Japanese numbers is "mu-sa-shi", which reminds Japanese people of Musashi Province of the past, that used to cover a large area, including Tokyo, Saitama and part of Kanagawa Prefecture.

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Image: An eclipse is seen over Tokyo Sky TreePhotographs: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

Tokyo Skytree: World's tallest free-standing tower

Tokyo Skytree is designed in an original colour, "Skytree White", representing harmony with the surrounding scenery, its name and the design concept: "The creation of city scenery transcending time: A fusion of traditional Japanese beauty and neo-futuristic design".

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Image: Visitors form a line at the ticket counters of the Tokyo Sky TreePhotographs: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

Tokyo Skytree: World's tallest free-standing tower

The major role of Tokyo Skytree is transmission of digital terrestrial broadcasting. Digital terrestrial broadcasting has already been in use since December 2003 in the Kanto area, but due to the many tall buildings rising over 200m high in central Tokyo, it has become necessary to build a new tower higher than 600m for broadcasting transmission purposes.

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Image: A man with a hairstyle featuring the Tokyo Sky TreePhotographs: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

Tokyo Skytree: World's tallest free-standing tower

The tower has seismic proofing, including a central shaft made of reinforced concrete. Its blueprint includes a central shaft made from reinforced concrete, and a regular series of 'dampers', which can absorb 50 per cent of the energy from an earthquake.